Connecticut Resident is First to File for N.H. Primary

Mark Stewart billed himself as a liberty leaning Democrat

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Mark Stewart was the first candidate to file for the New Hampshire Primary on Wednesday.

Democrat Martin O'Malley was expected to be the first presidential candidate to file to run in the New Hampshire Primary on Wednesday.

Then Mark Stewart showed up.

Stewart, whose full name is actually Mark Stewart Greenstein, lives in West Hartford, Connecticut. He said he plans to run in New Hampshire because "You're first, you're most important, and I live nearby" and South Carolina.

He's a former lawyer who has also operated a test preparation and an education consulting firm.

After signing paperwork at the New Hampshire Statehouse on Wednsday, Stewart billed himself as a liberty-leaning Democrat. He called himself an "IED - an increasingly embarrassed Democrat" - and said he wants to reduce the power of union leaders, reduce the income tax, and reduce illegal immigration.

"The Democrat party needs an injection of liberty to its current leadership," Stewart said in an email. "I will be in as many primaries as possible to tout the message that freedom brings prosperity and happiness and dignity."

Wednesday was the first day that candidates could file for the New Hampshire Primary. The filing period runs through Nov. 20.